Cognitive engagement in the problem-based learning classroom

The objective of the present study was to examine to what extent autonomy in problem-based learning (PBL) results in cognitive engagement with the topic at hand. To that end, a short self-report instrument was devised and validated. Moreover, it was examined how cognitive engagement develops as a function of the learning process and the extent to which cognitive engagement determines subsequent levels of cognitive engagement during a one-day PBL event. Data were analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis, repeated measures ANOVA, and path analysis. The results showed that the new measure of situational cognitive engagement is valid and reliable. Furthermore, the results revealed that students’ cognitive engagement significantly increased as a function of the learning event. Implications of these findings for PBL are discussed

Motivational beliefs, cognitive engagement, and achievement in language and mathematics in elementary school children

The contextual differences in the patterns of relations among various motivational, cognitive, and metacognitive components of self-regulated learning and performance in two key curriculum subject areas, language and mathematics, were examined in a sample of 263 Greek primary school children of fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms. Age and gender differences were also investigated. Students were asked to complete the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990), which comprised five factors: (a) Self-efficacy, (b) Intrinsic Value, (c) Test Anxiety, (d) Cognitive Strategy Use, and (e) Self-regulation Strategies. They responded to the statements of the questionnaire on a 7-point Likert scale in terms of their behaviour in mathematics and language classes, respectively. Moreover, their teachers were asked to evaluate each of their students' academic achievement in Greek language and mathematics on a 1- to 20-point comparative scale in relation to the rest of the class. The results of the study indicated very few differences in the pattern of relations among self-regulated components within and across the two subject areas and at the same time revealed a context-specific character of self-regulated components at a mean level differences. Further, the current study (a) confirmed the mediatory role of strategies in the motivation-performance relation, (b) stressed the differential role of cognitive and regulatory strategies in predicting performance in subject areas that differ in their structural characteristics of the content, and (c) pointed out the key motivational role of self-efficacy. In fact, self-efficacy proved the most significant predictor not only of performance but of cognitive and regulatory strategy use as well. Gender differences in motivation and strategy use were not reported, while motivation was found to vary mainly with age. The usefulness of these findings for promoting greater clarity among motivational and metacognitive frameworks and ideas for future research are discussed

The Relationship of Academic and Social Cognition to Behaviour in Bullying Situations among Greek Primary School Children

This research explored links between cognition (both social and academic) and children's behaviour in a bullying situation (participant roles). Participants were 186 fourth to sixth grade boys and girls from four primary schools in central Greece. Six categories of social cognition (self-efficacy for assertion, self-efficacy for aggression, expectations that aggression will lead to rewards, expectations that aggression will lead to victim sufferings the value placed on rewards and the value placed on suffering in the victim) and two categories of academic cognition (self-efficacy for learning and performance and the self-regulatory strategies used while solving problems) were investigated in connection to six participant roles (bully, victim, assistant, reinforcer, defender and outsider). Results suggest that there are differential associations between cognitions and the roles that children take in bullying situations, according to gender. Academic self-efficacy combined with certain social cognitions predicted both victimisation and bullying behaviour. Self-regulatory strategies combined with social cognitions similar to victim's and bully's predicted both assistant and reinforcer behaviour, while none of the cognition measures predicted defender or outsider behaviour. Implications for interventions against bullying are briefly discussed

TEACHING DEDUCTIVE REASONING TO PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS: PROMISES AND CONSTRAINTS

This paper broadly addresses the question of whether university students whose major does not require expertise in logic can improve their ability in deductive reasoning by taking an introductory course in logic. In particular, our study aims to evaluate a course in deductive logic offered by one of the authors in a department of elementary education. Two experiments were conducted by using a pretest-posttest design with an experimental and a control group as well as a follow-up test after 6 months on the experimental group. The results of the analyses showed that the course mainly succeeded in strengthening students' general logical ability in the experimental group and these gains were retained 6 months later in the follow-up test. Promises and constraints of the study are discussed in the educational context

Investigating the immediate and delayed effects of multiple-reading strategy instruction in primary EFL classrooms

The present study aimed at investigating the immediate and delayed effects of a multiple-strategy instruction on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' reading performance. The sample of the study consisted of 99, 11-12 year old, Greek-speaking EFL learners. The study, quasi experimental in design, involved an experimental group that received a three-month strategy instruction set within the Direct Explanation framework and a control group that received no such training but participated in the pretest, immediate and delayed posttest measurements. The results of the study indicated that the students in the experimental group improved their reading performance both in the immediate and delayed posttest measurements as compared to the students in the control group. Empirical evidence is provided regarding the effectiveness of explicit multiple-strategy training in EFL contexts with young, school-aged students. Educational implications and recommendations for further research are also discussed. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd

Intervention on strategy use and on motivation of Greek pupils' reading comprehension in english classes

Although less skilled learners may improve their abilities through training in strategies used by successful learners, only a few studies have addressed the question of metacognitive strategy training in contexts in which foreign language is learned. This study intended to investigate whether strategy instruction on semantic mapping would produce more successful comprehension in English as a Foreign Language if a boost to students' integrative motivation was included. A sample of 119 Greek students, 14 to 15 years old, of both sexes participated. Strategy training was provided to two experimental groups, with one of them having motivation boosting. One group received only integrative motivation boosting and the control group received no strategy training or boosting, but participated in pre- and posttesting. Results imply that only the students who received intervention, either in the form of metacognitive strategy training or a boost to their integrative motivation or as a combination of these, improved their performance in English reading comprehension in the posttest phase

Do learning difficulties differentiate elementary teachers' attributional patterns for students' academic failure? A comparison between Greek regular and special education teachers

This study aimed to (a) investigate whether the presence of learning difficulties (LD) in primary school children differentiates Greek teachers' attributional patterns, emotional responses, expectations and evaluative feedback for the children's academic failures and (b) to examine possible differences between regular and special education teachers' ratings. A total of 265 teachers (163 regular & 102 special teachers), were asked to rate eight vignettes about children's difficulties. The description of each vignette provided three types of information: the presence or absence of LD, a statement of students' ability (high/low ability) and effort expenditure (high/low effort). For the purposes of this study, the analysis focused only on the existence or absence of Learning Difficulties (LD/NLD). The results of the study indicate that the label of LD differentiates teachers' attributions, emotions and future expectancies of students' failure. Both groups of teachers (regular and special education) reported lower stability and controllability attributions for students with LD than for students without LD. At the same time, however, special education teachers view student difficulties as more manageable, and their responses convey less stable and uncontrollable attributions as compared to regular teachers. The effect of teachers' gender was not found significant in most of the cases. Correlations among teachers' ratings showed that the two groups of teachers seem to use a different attribution schema towards failure depending on the presence or absence of LD. Implications from the findings and future recommendations are also presented

Writing and drawing performance of school age children - Is there any relationship?

The aim of our study was to investigate possible relationships between writing and drawing performance of school-aged children, in order to compare the two skills at the within-individual level. The sample consisted of 182 right- and left-handed children, aged 8 to 12 years. Children were examined by the Greek adaptation of the Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery in spontaneous writing, copying and writing to dictation and they were asked to complete four different drawing tasks. The results produced significant correlations between drawing scores and scores in all three writing tasks. Significant differences in drawing performance among proficient and poor hand writers were also found. On the other hand, there were no significant differences between right- and left-handers' performance on the above tasks, despite the overrepresentation of left-handed amongst between poor writers. Our findings create a fruitful ground for the further study of early drawing as a means to predict later handwriting problems